The Further
Adventures of the Frankenstein Monster
Episode Two
Many years passed during which Victor
lived a pleasant enough life, neither extremely happy nor unhappy, but
comfortable and accepted by the tribe. Even Katrikki learned to tolerate his
ugliness and would look at him without flinching. She even kissed and hugged
him sometimes. She treated him as the other women of the tribe treated their
husbands. She cooked and cleaned and helped him mend nets and tend to the
reindeer herd. When together, they chatted and even laughed together.
But as time passed a problem began to
arise. Jaakko, Katrikki and the other people of the tribe aged, but Victor did
not. Although, because of his nature, it was difficult to ascertain his true
age, it became obvious that he did not change at all. He was still as strong
and vigorous as had been after he recovered from his freezing when he first
arrived.
Finally Jaakko died. The funeral consisted
of placing the deceased in a small boat and allowing it to drift out to sea. It
had not been made seaworthy so that the body eventually sank below the
waves.
By this time, Katrikki was middle aged.
About a week later, the village elders came in a group to Victor's hut to tell
him that he must leave. Since he did not age, they had decided that it was not
fitting for a god to live among them. The elders assured him that Katrikki
would be cared for. Victor understood. He had never really felt comfortable among
most of the tribe other than Jaakko and Katrikki. They always treated him with
deference and fear. Most believed that he was truly a god.
As he said good-bye, Katrikki burst into
tears and hugged him. He kissed the top of her head, took what belongings he
could carry and walked south and west. For almost a year he traveled through
forests, mountains and plains. He constructed a bow and made arrows from dead
tree limbs, which he used to hunt game. From Jaakko he had learned how to make
fire by twirling a stick. When he traveled through farmland, he stole whatever
produce was ripe. Although he avoided towns and villages, he sometimes slept in
farmers' barns and stole items that he could use, such as an ax or clothing,
which he needed to modify to fit him.
After several months, he reached the
outskirts of
On Saturday nights, the longshoremen
frequented a waterfront bar. There they drank and told stories of their youth.
They drank with Victor if he paid. Otherwise they avoided him. Once, a large
man became drunk and cursed Victor in Russian. He called him "son of a
filthy pig so ugly even the sows avoid you."
By that time, Victor had learned enough of
the language to know what the bully had said. He grabbed the drunk by the shirt
and said, "You may call me ugly. That I don't mind, for I am. You may also
curse my parentage, because I curse him too. But never call me by the name of
that filthy animal."
In reply, the man spit at Victor and
struck him in the face with his fist. This was the biggest mistake of his life.
Victor did not flinch, merely struck the man back, smashing his nose, breaking
a dozen teeth and sending him flying across the room unconscious. Victor returned
to his drink as though nothing had happened. A few nights later, when Victor
left the bar, the man came out of dark alley with two of his friends. They
carried grappling hooks for weapons. The next morning, all three were found
dead with their necks broken. The authorities made a cursory investigation, but
did not pursue it since the dead men were known troublemakers. No one ever
bothered Victor again.
Local prostitutes hung out at the bar, and
at times Victor made use of them. But they, like Katrikki, would not look at
him as they serviced him. Before they would remove their clothing, they
insisted that all lamps be extinguished in whatever room the evening's
rendezvous took place.
Victor spent twenty years in
From
The man smiled, "All of those
languages. Which do you prefer?" he said in French.
Victor replied, "French." He
spoke that language almost as well as his native Swiss.
After they had a few drinks together,
Victor asked, "Do you know where a man can obtain employment in this
city?"
Fleischmann eyed Victor up and down.
"You seem unusually large and strong. What do you do?"
"Many things. I have been a herder of
animals, a fisherman and a longshoreman."
"These are occupations for persons
who have great strength such as you have, but not much in the brain
department." He pointed to his head. "But you speak like someone who
has some education."
Victor grinned. "I am self educated.
I used to read a lot. I enjoy the classics."
Fleischmann stroked his long beard.
"I could use a laboratory assistant. I am an alchemist."
"An alchemist, huh. My father was an
alchemist. I have an idea of what you do." By this time, the wine was going
to Victor's head. "I'll tell you a secret. I am not human. I was created
by a man named Frankenstein."
Fleischmann stared at him for several
moments. "I have heard of this man, Baron Frankenstein. There was much
tragedy in his life. A sea captain by the name of Walton found him dying in the
artic wilderness. Walton told a long tale that Frankenstein had related to him
about creating an artificial man from parts of dead bodies and bringing it to
life. Everyone dismissed the story as a fantasy cooked up either by Walton or
Frankenstein."
Victor chuckled. "It was no fantasy.
I am the creature that Frankenstein created."
Fleischmann's eyes grew round, and he
licked his lips. "I believe you. You must come to my home. I will provide
you with room and board plus a small salary if you will become my laboratory
assistant."
Although Victor suspected that Fleischmann
wanted to pry Frankenstein's secrets from him, he decided that he would be safe
and lead some sort of normal life as an employee of this man. "I accept."
They shook hands. After they left the
cafe, Fleischmann led him to his home, where he was given a place to sleep in a
spare bedroom. Fleischmann was a bachelor who lived an almost hermit like
existence.
* * *
The work in the laboratory was not difficult.
Victor's tasks were to clean up any messes, do any heavy lifting required and
to aid some of the experiments. Fleischmann's main goal was to produce an
elixir of life. Since he believed that Frankenstein had done this and had used
it to bring Victor to life, he was continually interrogating him about the
methods that Frankenstein had used. Victor told him that he knew very little
about the processes that were used in his creation. That was not strictly true.
Victor knew more than he was telling.
Victor enjoyed the work, and his
conversations with the talkative alchemist. For the most part, Fleischmann was
good to Victor, sharing his simple meals and pleasures. A few times he provided
Victor with prostitutes. He required Victor to work, not as a servant, but as
an apprentice. Victor was allowed free reign of Fleischmann's books, which he
took full advantage of, learning much about Judaism and the occult. From time
to time, there were pogroms against the Jews, but the men who would harm
Fleischmann and Victor took one look at Victor and left him alone.
Not long after Victor was hired,
Fleischmann read a book by Anton Mesmer and made an unsuccessful attempt to
mesmerize Victor. Victor felt the attempt was made in order for Victor to
reveal the secret knowledge he was holding back.
While Victor lived with Fleischmann, the
rabbi read aloud from his holy books and books on the occult. One of the tales
concerned the first wife of Adam, who was called Lillith. According to
Fleischmann she was a dark angel and still existed as a succubus who came to
men at night to steal their seed and sometimes their soul. The night that
Victor heard this story, he dreamed of her. When the dream started, he was in a
dark cavern lighted by torches on the wall.
Soon he heard a slithering sound. Through an archway came a lizard the
size of an elephant. Riding it was a beautiful naked woman, with dark red hair,
a lovely face and a perfect body, although she was nonhuman in two respects.
She had enormous bat wings, and her hands ended in long sharp talon-like
fingers with dagger-like nails.
She smiled at him and said, "Victor,
as you now call yourself, you must be patient. Soon I'll find you a mate that
will be of your own kind. After the human race is gone, the children from this
union will repopulate the earth."
She slid off her dragon and put her arms
around Victor. They copulated on the floor of the cave.
When Victor woke up, he found that he had
spilled his seed. He wondered, Was that simply a wet dream or did I make
love to a succubus? If it was really a message from the demon Lillith,
could the things she said be a prophesy?
When he told Fleischmann about the dream,
the old man said, "It was definitely a prophetic vision." He patted
Victor on the back. "You are to spawn a new race."
Victor did not believe it. He did not
think that Frankenstein had made him fertile.
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